Another international field of teams from around the world began the challenge of managing their Global Construction Business, a journey that would ultimately lead to one of them being crowned the Enginuity 2024, and 15th Enginuity Champions!

The ENGINUITY Competition is not designed to be an easy challenge, and is intended to reflect how difficult it can be to run a multinational construction business in the real world. To be successful will require an effective business strategy to identify new work, secure the work in a competitive bidding environment, and then manage jobs progressed profitably, dealing with the many problems that will arise, such as job delays and managing risk. There will be many ups and downs, and excellent leadership and management skills will be needed to deal with adversity, and keep the business growing.

And so to the early action, and over 98% of the teams were able to post positive growth figures in period 5, with a real international feel at the top of the first leaderboard. The early pacesetters, and flying high at the top are the "Stantec Falcons" (Stantec, India) with 1,377 pts, one of 5 Stantec teams, the largest sponsor, in the top 12. A team from India, or Stantec, have never won the Enginuity Competition, but could this be their year form a famous double ? However, the early leaders cannot rest on their laurels with the chasing pack close behind, led by "Pell's Angels" (Pell Frischmann, UK) and "Constructive Chaos" (Arcadis Australia Pacific, Australia) and there are just 44 points separating the top 12 teams going into the second round, and many teams lying in wait should the leading teams slip us.

And a word of caution to the leading teams, and hope for those lower down the leaderboard. The top teams at the end of the first round normally have high workloads after successful bidding, and their infrastructure size then limits their ability to win a high volume of work in period 6, as well as giving them the 'growing pains' of needing lots of additional labour to handle the additional workload. In contrast, those who did not perhaps start too well are in the reverse position, and can improve their forward workload and margin significantly in the second round, providing, of course, they set competitive bids. It should be a very interesting leaderboard again in the next round!

And so to the first of this year's ENGINUITY TWITTER FEEDS :-

• For the first time for a while a University team are taking part, "SiX GoLdZZ" (The University of Manchester, UK), and the students have made an excellent start in 7th place in the first league table. Lets hope their studies are not suffering too much, but the effort is certainly worth it.
  
  
• The Champions from the last two years, Jacobs, are once more well represented with teams from all over the globe. It will take a monumental effort to repeat the success of "briJ" in 2023 and "Babble Royale" in 2022, but "Astra Engineering" (Jacobs, UK) have started well in 11th place, and many other Jacobs' teams lie in waiting not far behind.
  
  
• New to the Competition this year are Carollo Engineers, a US-based environmental engineering firm that specializes in the planning, design, and construction of water and wastewater facilities. They have two teams taking part, "If It Ain’t Broke, FIX It" (Carollo Engineers, United States) and "Carollo Constructors" (Carollo Engineers, United States) and it is the former who have made the best start with 32% growth that has them well placed in 24th.
  
  
• MWH Treatment have been involved in the Competition for many years, but have never qualified for the final, but after some intensive preparation, and 5 teams taking part, hopes are high that this could change this year, and the "MWHT Graduates" (MWH Treatment, UK) have raised hopes further after an excellent start in 6th place.
  
  
• The Enginuity Competition is a stern test of endurance and team collaboration skills, and this will be put to the test in the next period for a number of teams languishing at the wrong end of the table. One of the keys to their recovery will undoubtedly be their ability to secure new work with more competitive bids, and in particular analysing likely rival bidders to ensure that their margins are set low enough to undercut their rivals, but still make a reasonable profit. They will also need to secure as much profit as possible from their jobs in progress, with a lot of emphasis on effective labour scheduling, especially when completing jobs.
  
  

2023 proved to be another turbulent year for the UK. Food and energy prices rose sharply, caused largely by global supply chain disruptions and the effects of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resulting in a Cost of Living crisis in the UK, and the Bank of England were forced to increase interest rates many times to combat rising inflation, with resulting growth of only around 0.4% in the whole of 2023.
Hopes were growing towards the end of 2023 that 2024 could see some green shoots of recovery, with interest rates reaching their potential peak. However, many observers are sceptical with the upcoming general election, and a likely change of Government expected to prolong the uncertainty for businesses and delay investment, and growth is expected to fall to 0.3% in 2024.

Further afield global real GDP grew by around 2.9 percent in 2023, but is expected to slow to 2.5 percent in 2024, weighed down by high inflation and continued monetary policy tightening. Growth forecasts for 2024 are generally strongest in emerging Asian economies, and weakest in Europe and the US.
The outlook is not helped by the continued impact of the Russia invasion of Ukraine, and the Israel invasion of Palestine in the Middle East, all potentially putting further global pressures on energy prices across the world.

League table at the end of period 5

Sponsor league tables (3 or more teams):-
AECOM
Arcadis
Atkins
Hatch
Jacobs
Laing O'Rourke
MWH Treatment
Pell Frischmann
Stantec
WSP

Just like the real world it simulates, Enginuity is designed to reflect the ups and downs of managing a global construction business, and the growing pains on the journey have to be overcome, and management teams need to adapt and come up with innovative solutions to keep their businesses on the right lines.
This was perfectly highlighted in period 6 as many teams that made substantial gains in period 5, due to winning lots of work, suddenly found period 6 to be more challenging. Carrying a high workload going into period 6, their infrastructure (capital base) restricted them from being able to win much new work, and forward workload and margin KPIs fell. To compound this the extra work that was won in period 5 needed to be progressed, and extra labour (own or subcontract) was required, incurring training costs for own new labour, or subcontract premiums. These all added to the cost base, and gross profit and operating profit to turnover KPIs suffered, and growth rates were largely down for many, with only 44% of the teams posting positive growth figures.

The result of this upheaval was major turbulence in the leaderboard in period 6, with 11 new entries into the top 12, and qualifying places for the final at the end of period 12.
At the top of the table previous high flyers the "Stantec Falcons" (Stantec, India) came down to earth, and it was "HatchGPT" (Hatch, South Africa) who emerged as the new leaders with 1,423 pts after solid 9% growth. Jacobs' teams emerged from the field with large positional gains, with "Powerhouse" (Jacobs, UK/Ireland) moving up 51 places to second, and "Antipodean Pavlovs" (Jacobs, Australia/New Zealand) up 79 places to 3rd, and "Nobles Across the Pond (NAWBL)" (WSP, UK/United States) made an astonishing 108 place rise to move joint 3rd.
After the drama of period 6, it is almost certain that the league table will see lots more changes in the next round as the teams who did not do so well this week are expected to come storming back, and those that faired well will be trying to consoldiate their gains.

And so to the latest ENGINUITY TWITTER FEEDS :-

• Who were the star performers in terms of overall improvement and positional gain this week ?
  In terms of performance the accolade went to "Team Redditch" (Stantec, UK) with a stunning 35% growth that moved them 35 places up the leaderboard.
  In terms of positional gain, and there were many eye catching rises (and falls), "ApexInnovate Solutions" (Jacobs, UK/India/Ireland/SA) took the plaudits with an incredible 121 place rise from 138th to 17th, and demonstrating what can be achieved in one round with an effective set of decisions based upon a sound strategy.
  
  
• Pell Frischmann have once more entered a number of teams, and after several made promising starts in period 5, period 6 brought them back down to earth, but "Pell’s Angels" (Pell Frischmann, UK) are still well placed just outside the top 20, and well ahead of their colleagues, but it is early days and a lot can happen as the management teams adapt and learn from their mistakes.
  
  
• And what of the only student team taking part. "SiX GoLdZZ" (The University of Manchester, UK) made an amazing start in period 5, sitting 7th in the league table, but is the extra pressure no doubt heaped upon them from their studies beginning to take effect as they slipped back after a 2% deterioration, or is this only a blip in the road ? Watch this space to find out.
  
  
• Risks that strike can have a major impact on job profits, and this was the case on a number of jobs in period 6, including contractors that secured the medium sized contract to upgrade Finsbury park tunnel and mains for London Water Services. Unfortunately Hazardous materials found at site, unexpected as they had been highlighted as a low risk, cost around 170k that impacted on the job's profits in the project's first quarter.
  
  
• Looking further down the league table, success can be measured in many ways, including turning things round after an indifferent start. There are many examples of teams that were able to do this, and the aforementioned "Team Redditch" (Stantec, UK) are one that stand out after pulling away from the foot of the table in period 6 with an impressive 35% improvement, giving hope to others who are hoping to do the same.
  
  

With KPI points hard earned it will become increasingly important that the management teams look very carefully at every aspect of their business for potential improvements, and those that are most successful in doing so should prosper the most. Two areas that the teams need particular attention are Marketing strategy and Procurement (rival bidders), which are discussed in more detail below.

Marketing is possibly the area of the business that requires the most thought, as there are numerous strategies that could be adopted. The market trend can only be gauged for one year ahead, and not always accurately, and as marketing departments are expanded, the choices of where to direct the marketing effort are wide ranging, by sector, country and job size. The task is not an easy one, but has a major impact upon procurement options, and the future work undertaken, and ultimately on the long term prosperity of the company.

Another important consideration is that rival bidders do not necessarily stick with the same bidding strategy, and as time goes by they can change their strategy according to market conditions. This makes it imperative that teams keep a close eye on the margins rival bidders are applying, and how they may be changing. Evaluating these strategies could make the key difference between success in securing work, or not. To complicate matters even further there may be UNKNOWN rival bidders, and the only clues to these may be in the ENGINUITY NEWS NETWORK (ENN) for the period.

League table at the end of period 6
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 6

Sponsor league tables (3 or more teams):-
AECOM
Arcadis
Atkins
Hatch
Jacobs
Laing O'Rourke
MWH Treatment
Pell Frischmann
Stantec
WSP

After the turbulence of period 6, it was much more serene for the majority of teams, with 80% posting positive growth figures. However, there was still plenty of movement throughout the league table, with 5 new entries into the top 12, and qualifying places for the Final. Not surprisingly the two major sponsors, Stantec and Jacobs, are well represented with 2 and 4 teams respectively, and Stantec in particular will be keen to keep up their momentum as they chase their inaugural success, but Jacobs will be determined to defend their title, although others could well put a spanner in the works with AtkinsRealis, Parsons, Hatch, MWH Treatement, Arcadis Autralia Pacific and WSP all represented in the leading places in what is already shaping up to be a titanic struggle.

The top of the leaderboard has a real international feel, and for the 3rd consecutive round there are new leaders as "Stan Movers" (Stantec, United States) climbed 6 places to takeover top spot with 1,538 pts. Just 8 points back are the "Fanatics" (AtkinsRealis, India), with "The Mighty Turtles" (Parsons, United States) moving along swimmingly as they climbed 13 places to 3rd, and looking to repeat the 2021 success of Parsons. And what a week for the "Martians" (WSP, UK/Canada), whose impressive 43 place gain catapulted them up to land in 4th. There is still very little between the leading teams with just 70 points separating the top 12, and a large group of teams vying to break into the qualifying places for the final.

And so to the latest ENGINUITY TWITTER FEEDS :-

• Who were the star performers in terms of overall improvement and positional gain this week ?
  Both accolades went to "Stantastic" (Stantec, UK), who more than lived up to their team name with stunning 32% growth that moved them an increadible 102 places up the leaderboard, and into the top 30. It demonstrated what can be achieved in one round with an effective set of decisions based upon a sound strategy.
  
  
• It was back in 2015 that AECOM were the Enginuity Champions with 'Newbee', and they have been trying hard since then to repeat the success. This year they have 7 teams taking part, all from the UK, and the team holding the internal bragging rights at the moment are "MINCAM Co" (AECOM, UK), but it is very competitive amongst them with 5 of the teams separated by just 16 points.
  
  
• Every year the ENGINUITY CRYSTAL BALL tries to predict dark horses in the Competition. One team that has already caught the eye this year is "Infraco Invasion" (Infraco Consulting, UK) If this trend continues they may soon be challenging the leaders, and they are showing the right credentials for being serious contenders for a place in the final.
  
  
• Every week we see examples of the phrase from the famous Billy Ocean song, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going", and one that stood out in period 7 occurred at the foot of the table as the "Almighty Bellevue Defenders" (Jacobs, United States) reversed a previous 17% decline with a massive 26% improvement, which lifted them away from the foot of the table, and raised hopes amongst their stakeholders that better times lie ahead. And with a number of teams at the wrong end of the table recovering well in period 7, only 2 teams are currently below their starting total KPI of 1,000 points, and only just, showing how well the teams are adapting to the challenge of running their virtual construction businesses.
  
  
• AtkinsRealis have 3 teams competing this year from their India region. All of them are in the top 40, and performing extremely well in their quest to become the first AtkinsRealis Champions, and their leading team at the moment in second place are the "Fanatics" (AtkinsRealis, India), moving up 3 places this week from 5th.
  
  

IEWP = SUCCESS

A leading industry think tank have come up with a simple formula for running a successful construction business.

1. IDENTIFY new work
2. EXPAND the infrastructure (capital base) of the company to take on more work
3. WIN new work through competitive bidding
4. PROFITABLE PROGRESS of the jobs won

Another essential part of running a successful business is being able to form an effective Risk Management Strategy to keep the business as profitable as possible. This can take a number of forms, firstly by building sensible risk contingencies into the original bids based upon the likelihood and cost of the risks occurring. Secondly, and just as importantly is mitigating the affects of any risks that strike through targeted investment into risk management companies, using a BIM model if available, and employing the most suitable project managers to jobs in progress. However, even when these mitigating actions are taken, risk can still be costly to job and company profits, and during period 7 problems with hazardous materials found at site affected the modifications to the Little Nerang Dam for Queensland Water in the job's first period, with an estimated risk cost of around 120k before mitigation.

League table at the end of period 7
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 7

Sponsor league tables (3 or more teams):-
AECOM
Arcadis
Atkins
Hatch
Jacobs
Laing O'Rourke
MWH Treatment
Pell Frischmann
Stantec
WSP